The Music Scene＜数量限定盤/Opaque Teal Vinyl＞

Blockheadの4作品がカラー盤にて再発!!

Matt BlackとJonathan Moreによって設立されたUKの名門レーベル、〈Ninja Tune〉からのリリースをはじめ、Aesop Rockのプロデュースワークなどでも知られるBlockhead。ブレイクビーツ、ヒップ・ホップを根底に、ジャズやアンビエント、エレクトロニック・ミュージック、ロックなど様々な音楽的要素を融合させるスタイルで根強い人気を誇る彼が、市場で高騰していた作品を含む4タイトルを一挙ヴァイナル・リイシュー!

For now, lets leave aside the question of what makes instrumental hip-hop "hip-hop." (Samples? Breakbeats? A certain general texture or mood or variety of funkiness?) Instead of worrying about genre or categories, lets just focus on the quality of the music on Blockheads third Ninja Tune release, which is close to jaw-dropping. Its not just the variety of source materials from which he draws, though that alone is pretty impressive: "Its Raining Clouds," the albums opening track, wanders from a cool downtempo mood to a sort of restrained drumnbass jitter by the end; "The Prettiest Sea Slug" swings indolently under an explicitly jazzy saxophone and piano; "Tricky Turtle" pairs an old-school funk vibe with splanky guitars, greasy horns, and a possibly African vocal sample; "Four Walls" critiques Auto-Tune abusers with a slow 6/8 groove and over the top vocoder effects. But the albums centerpiece is both more serious and more disturbing: titled "The Daily Routine," it features a laid-back and frankly quite pretty instrumental backing track over which are layered recordings of a drug-addicted couple having a screaming, profanity-laced argument. Everyone makes sample-based music these days, but very few people use found sounds and prefab musical snippets as creatively and thoughtfully as Blockhead does. Maybe he needs a new stage name. ~ Rick Anderson

ニンジャからは4年ぶりとなる新作は、ヒップホップ・マナーのサンプリングとコラージュを駆使して、世界各地の移民系音楽をひとつのストーリーへと昇華させたようなビーツ・アルバム!　ジャジーなドラムスやホーンに、中近東〜アジア風のエスノ（あるいはアフロ?　はたまたブラジリアン?）なパーカッションなど、多様なフレイヴァーの土着的な部分を、丹念に、トロットロになるまで、うま〜く混ぜ合わせた緻密な内容です!
bounce (C)ヤス2B